Designing yachts is his dream

February 01, 2006|LAUREEN FAGAN Tribune Staff Writer

When he was a little boy, Andy Clements of Mishawaka loved boats. Now, he'll be studying how to build them. "Every summer (we) have gone to a lake in northern Michigan," said Clements, 25, by telephone from Maine. "Our family has owned the home for almost 100 years. Growing up there, on the water, we had a small Boston whaler that I sort of abducted on my own. We'd cruise around on the lake all day." Clements, a 1998 Penn High School graduate, used to run up and down the docks, he said, towing his toy boats. "I'd always end up in the water," he said, laughing. Looks like he'll be staying in -- and around -- water. This year, Clements will study yacht design at the Landing School in Maine. It's a program he'll enter after graduating with a mechanical engineering degree from Clemson in 2003 and spending some time working on yacht crews during a stint in Fort Lauderdale. "I figured that if I went down there and started working on yachts," Clements said, "I'd have a better feel for the everyday use of boats." Crew agencies in Florida match yacht-crew hopefuls with the boats, often with a high turnover, Clements said. "A month can be considered a good run," he explained. Clements worked on the Over Bored, where he met his wife, the former Heidi Stone. A Holland, Mich., native, Stone worked as a chef while Clements was the first mate. Stone's duties helped him to learn yacht function and design in the most practical way. "It didn't take long to realize the opinion of most crew members of the designers wasn't very good," he said. "Because it was obvious that they'd never really spent time on the boat." And time on the boat isn't always so exotic. Sure, the owners are wealthy. Sure, the Bahamas and other locales are wonderful destinations. And, yes, it's a different life than many people live, taking the guests out for snorkeling and jet skiing and boat tours. "Your world gets pretty small," Clements said. "Because you're living with the people you work with.'' Even if it is Key West. "My parents laughed because my room was about the size of a closet," he added. After their September wedding, the Clements headed off for Arundel, Maine. The Landing School's one-year program in yacht design offers precisely what Clements wants in his profession, to build on his engineering. "Steam bending" and "Spars and rigging" are not exactly the titles most people see in their course description books. But it's been a lifelong dream for Clements. "I haven't really known too much other than this," he said. "I feel like I'm that little kid, standing on a dock." For more information about the Landing School, check out www.landingschool.org.Staff writer Laureen Fagan: lfagan@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6344